Deciding Dreams, Determining Fate
by fiery.fallen.angel
Summary: While still at school, Bellatrix began a relationship with Minerva McGonagall. After Bellatrix joins Voldemort, they don't see each other again until during the War, in which they end up alone. Will Bellatrix do her duty to Voldemort?
1. Chapter 1

_**AN:**_ _**This is one of the few Bellatrix/Minerva stories, beginning with their thoughts as they see each other during and after the war, then spanning backwards to when Bellatrix was at school. Enjoy, please review so I know how it's going – this is a pair I've only just considered putting together, but once an idea has struck me I have to get it out! Italics are thoughts, emboldened italics are memories/flashbacks. **_

Flashes of deadly green light flew past Minerva as she forced herself to focus on the task at hand. The school's defences were broken; Death Eaters flooded the castle and the battle had begun – yet it was all Minerva could do to concentrate on anything but whether or not she would see _her_ again. She clenched her wand tightly, firing curses towards the enemy in order to save the students they were battling. Secretly, she held a great affection towards all of the Hogwarts students, both past and present, but for the past few years she had found it very difficult to show. There was only one woman to blame for that, but she couldn't let herself think the name – she knew that if she did, her defences would crumble and she would be forced to seek her out in the masses of bodies both alive and dead. Minerva couldn't help it; after everything that monster had done, she still prayed that she hadn't joined the magnitude of lifeless corpses littering the castle grounds.

And then she heard it. That laugh, that terrible cackle that only one person in the entire universe could emit.

_Bella…_

Minerva whipped around, eyes searching frantically for a mass of curly black hair, black eyes, anything – and there she was. After all this time. The women froze, staring at each other, talented enough to rid themselves of any competition without having to break their gaze. For a second, they were completely alone; it didn't take either of them legilimency to know what the other was thinking. After so long imagining what they would do if they were ever lucky enough to be in the same room again, their reactions were unsurprising – yet tainted by necessary conversations required before they allowed themselves to become reacquainted physically. For Minerva, she had to discover whether the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange still had remnants of _her_ love, Bella Black.

Bellatrix Lestrange couldn't help herself when the idea struck her. It would appear that she was following her orders so wonderfully to the Dark Lord, when in reality… She moved forward so suddenly that even Minerva couldn't move quickly enough to stop what was about to happen. They both heard the screaming as Bellatrix wrapped an arm easily around Minerva's neck from behind, the point of a blade gently resting on her pulse point, smiling as Minerva shuddered. Before any of the surrounding fighters could do anything to aid either witch, Bellatrix disapparated them both, thankful the bonds of Hogwarts were broken now.

Seconds later, they landed forcefully in a place no one would ever consider to look for them. Minerva internally cursed herself in her fear; if only.

_If only she hadn't taken the girl back to her home all those years ago._

_If only she hadn't turned into a dangerous lunatic._

Easily, Bellatrix removed Minerva's wand from her grasp and threw it across her bedroom.

"Bella… no, please don't do this…" Minerva choked out, bracing herself for the torture she was sure to come.

She was, therefore, shocked when Bellatrix's wand joined her own across the room, along with her blade.

"Oh, Minnie. Did you really think, after all this time, I'd forgotten? You don't recognise me anymore, but you will."

She leaned towards her former professor, noting with displeasure how the woman flinched from her in fear, clearly expecting "her" Bella to be gone. Gently, slowly, she reached across to free Minerva's hair from its clip, smiling as it tumbled down her back. It had always been one of her favourite assets of Minerva's, something the professor obviously remembered too. Why else would she have lost the fear in her eyes, replaced with something deeper. Something that dredged up welcome memories inside Bellatrix.

"I lie awake at night, trying so hard not to think of you." Minerva whispered. "I discovered a long time ago that, despite my best efforts, a person can't decide what they dream." She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as Bellatrix leaned closer still and brushed her lips against Minerva's.

"What do you think of, Minerva?" Bellatrix whispered too, lying on Minerva's bed. "When you think about me, do you remember me as I was when I was yours? Or do you simply see what stood before you in the battle; a treacherous personification of everything wrong with the world?"

Minerva smiled sadly and lay down next to her. They faced each other, bodies pressed together for comfort.

"Both, always both. Because they are the same, what you just described. My Bella, my sweet Bella is still somewhere inside the woman who accomplishes such acts of pure evil. Had you chosen… to stay with me," her voice broke, "perhaps my Bella would have overcome, recovered from the evil she had inflicted on her heart from a young age."

"You know I had to leave. I had no choice." Bellatrix closed her eyes and turned away from Minerva, facing the wall. At her words, Minerva had felt a sudden anger surge within her, one that had often surprised her. It had flared in the past when she thought of what Bella had become after she had given up on everything they had fought so hard to have, and here it was again.

"There is _always_ a choice, Bella Black." She hissed.

Bella whipped around at the use of the name she was so unused to hearing, eyes wide. Quickly, she positioned herself on top of Minerva, now forced to lie on her back as Bella grabbed her wrists and thrust them upwards.

"_What_ did you call me?"

With her arms pinned above her head and Bellatrix atop her legs, Minerva had nothing but her words to control this situation.

"I believe you heard me, or you would not have had quite such a reaction. Tell me, does being on top of me turn you on as much as it used to, or is this simply a technique you use to frighten people nowadays?"

Her voice was icy in a stark contrast to the fire that burned in her eyes; Minerva McGonagall was, ironically, in complete control of the situation despite her position. She was revealing the emotions and reactions Bellatrix Lestrange thought she had destroyed, or at the very least _buried_ so easily. It all stemmed from the fact that Minerva had known Bella Black, a somewhat sweet girl who endured such terrible trauma and substantial "persuasion" to become who she was today. With a few well-chosen words, Minerva McGonagall was reducing the less than human Bellatrix Lestrange to become _Bella_. Her Bella. She was torn as to whether or not she should let that happen, unused to allowing her well-built barriers crumble even slightly. These were the defences that saved her from becoming affected by the atrocities she saw and committed on a daily basis, the mental obstruction which allowed her to ignore any memories of the witch currently underneath her.

"You are only here, _Professor_, because I willed it so. No one will ever suspect that I would bring you to your own home…" Bellatrix became suddenly sneering in an attempt to cover her internal battle, remembering suddenly that she did have a task. Whether or not she could complete it was another matter entirely.

"To do what with me? Torture and kill me? Because I can see in your eyes that there's something else you would rather be doing to me, isn't there Bella?"

"Don't you _dare._ I don't answer simply to Bella anymore, and certainly not to Black. That is not who I am, and you are not _here_ so we can start some sordid affair again – you are _here_ because the Dark Lord wants you dead. It's my mission." She paused, and Minerva became aware of a raging battle behind her lover's eyes; one that Bellatrix herself wasn't particularly aware of. Bella Black was fighting it out with Bellatrix Lestrange, the former brought back to life by simply seeing her true love in front of her once again.

Minerva took advantage of Bellatrix's moment of weakness and shifted underneath her, wrists escaping the grasp of a Death Eater to rip open her lover's corset in a manner she hadn't acted in for so long, yet remembered so vividly. She could recall every reaction Bella had ever had during their time spent here, in this bed, and she wanted to see what had changed about her.

_It seems Bella can remember too,_ Minerva thought as she ran her fingers over soft skin,_ the Christmas of her seventh year of Hogwarts in particular, I'm sure of it – _she was brought out of these thoughts at the same time as Bellatrix, who had been picturing the view of snow covered grounds of so long ago, seen from the window to the left of the bed they were on right now, often gazed at after they had made love.

Bellatrix forced herself away from the hands she so badly wanted to touch her and retrieved her wand; desperately trying to recall the mission she had been appointed.

She pointed her only weapon at Minerva, the feel of her wand – the cause of so much devastation – forcing Bella Black deep inside of her. A sick, twisted smile spread across her face.

"_**Bellatrix." She shivered as her name left the Dark Lord's lips, facing him once again. He had just completed a meeting with all of his marked Death Eaters, assigning stronger members of the Order of the Phoenix to be murdered strategically by those who he considered worthy enough for such a task. Everyone had been mildly surprised when Bellatrix had not been mentioned, but of course, these thoughts were kept as fleeting, hidden under practiced Occlumency. **_

"_**My Lord?" She inquired when he had simply watched her until the room was completely empty and silent. "You require my services?"**_

"_**Indeed. There is one more member of the Order who will need to be taken care of as the war rages around them. And it must be you who kills her, do you understand me?"**_

_**Bellatrix nodded furiously, willing to do whatever her Master wished, wondering who it was.**_

"_**Minerva McGonagall."**_

_**Her eyes widened for a second, but she covered her reaction instantly.**_

"_**Consider it done, my Lord." She hissed, turning on her heel and leaving Voldemort alone, Nagini curled up next to him. **_

_**What Bellatrix did not hear, was Voldemort muttering to Nagini the reason **__**why**__** it had to be Bellatrix who murdered Minerva McGonagall. If she had, Bella Black might have fought harder against Bellatrix Lestrange. **_

Hey everyone, if you could please review and let me know what you think that would be great! I have the entire story planned out and I'll take everyone's thoughts to heart. Thank you for reading,

C


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: This is one of the few Bellatrix/Minerva stories, beginning with their thoughts as they see each other during and after the war, then spanning backwards to when Bellatrix was at school and other memories. Enjoy, please review so I know how it's going. Italics are thoughts, emboldened italics are memories/flashback still. Here's part 2 (: OH, and I imagine the dance to be to Do I Move You by Nina Simone, or Something to Talk About by Bonnie Raitt.**_

"Put the wand down, Bella."

Minerva had noticed that Bellatrix was mentally fluctuating between being the girl she loved and the woman she and so many others were frightened of. The woman so many despised, yet Minerva still couldn't bring herself to hate Bellatrix in any way, because she _knew_ that Bella Black, the girl who had so easily seduced her in her sixth year, was in there somewhere.

"Do you remember, Bella, when you seduced me while you were still at school? How easy it was for you to tell me… things… about how you felt." Minerva moved closer to Bellatrix, avoiding the wand still brandished in front of her. "You deduced that I felt the same in an instant, and you were so determined that for the last year of you studying at Hogwarts we would be together in secret." She moved closer still, determined not to show her fear to Bellatrix. "It was something I would never have been suspected of doing, you told me. You said we could always be together, because you loved me. If any of that was a lie, you would have killed me already."

And with that Bellatrix disappeared for long enough that Minerva leaned in towards _her Bella_ with a smile, pressing her lips to the raven-haired woman's. When she felt Bella relax slightly, she wrapped her arms around her waist tightly, moving one arm only when Bella wrapped a long leg around her waist to pull her closer still, gripping her thigh.

"You never could believe the things I said to you that night, could you Minerva?" Bella smiled as she remembered…

_**The end of their final exams had finally come, and the celebrations would last all night and well into the next day. Students littered the grounds of Hogwarts, surrounded by empty bottles of Firewhiskey, along with Muggle vodka that someone had snuck in by the case. Bella Black walked through masses of dancing couples, many of them kissing passionately; something which only increased the determined fire coursing through her. She had her cloak wrapped tightly around her to hide what little she was wearing underneath, silently thanking whatever the cause for her confidence was. Clutching the bottle of Firewhiskey she had picked up along the way, she took a swig from it just before she arrived at her destination, at which she knocked furiously. The door swung open faster than she had anticipated, revealing a very dressed up Minerva McGonagall. The alcohol Bella had consumed stopped the part of her brain which would normally have some decorum, and so Bella's eyes roved over her Professor's body, one which was outlined so perfectly by the black fitted dress she wore. Her hair fell in dark waves down her back; she had clearly just let it loose from her usual bun, and her emerald eyes were outlined beautifully, making them stand out even more than usual to Bella. **_

"_**Bella?" The voice snapped the girl out of her daze.**_

"_**May I come in? These parties are everywhere and I…" she stopped. Minerva had already stepped backwards and granted her entrance. Once inside, she indicated a seat next to her on a small sofa, not noticing her student's smile. They would be so close.**_

_**She sat down with grace, careful to keep her robe pulled around her for now, and offered the bottle of Firewhiskey to Minerva, who took it looking bemused. **_

"_**You wouldn't rather be outside drinking with your friends?"**_

"_**Actually, this is a much better way to spend the night, Professor."**_

"_**Perhaps for now then, Bella, you could call me Minerva. Simply because, otherwise, our situation as student and professor is emphasised, and this could therefore be uncomfortable for you. For tonight, and once you are no longer my student of course, please think of me as a friend?"**_

_**The inflection at the end of the sentence turned a statement into a question, one that Bella was all too happy to nod along to. The evening was already heading in the right direction for her.**_

"_**But I didn't ask, Minerva, if you plan to go out tonight? I'm not ruining anything?"**_

"_**Of course not Bella, I had just returned from a staff outing when you knocked quite so ferociously on my door."**_

_**Bella smiled, blushing slightly at the comment.**_

"_**I was in a hurry to get away from everyone. And I… was hoping we could share a drink together. In celebration, you know, of the end of exams. Although for me, I'm celebrating more than that, I suppose."**_

"_**Oh? And what's that, Bella?" Minerva looked up at her expectantly as she poured their drinks.**_

"_**When the clock strikes midnight, I'm officially an adult." Bella smiled.**_

_**Minerva gasped, "It's your birthday tomorrow?"**_

"_**Yes. Why so shocked?"**_

"_**I… no reason. Well you have under an hour of being a sixteen year old girl left, soon to be a woman. Are you sure this is where you want to be? I'm delighted you're here, of course, but surely a fiery girl like yourself should be outside, dancing… with boys…" Minerva coughed, her expression having changed rather radically as she pictured what she had just suggested.**_

"_**Well, for one thing, I don't dance in public. And for another, should I be dancing with a partner, it would not be a boy." Bella sneered out the last word, making Minerva laugh lightly before drinking her whiskey in one gulp.**_

"_**Those are two things we have in common then, Bella."**_

_**Their eyes met as Bella finished her drink, too. **_

"_**In which case…" Bella flicked her wand at the music centre in the corner, and a seductively slow song poured out of it. The music surrounded them, and Minerva couldn't help but take the hand offered in front of her, placing the other on Bella's shoulder as the girl held her waist. They moved together slowly, pressed tightly against each other. Feeling the heat radiating from Bella, Minerva had to wonder why the girl still had her cloak on, it was obviously an unnecessary formality considering Bella was calling her Minerva and dancing with her quite so… sensually.**_

_**Without asking, Minerva tugged at the ties at Bella's throat, causing the cloak to loosen enough to give a view of what lay underneath. Bella Black was wearing a blood red corset, giving Minerva a view of plenty of her breasts, and a small black skirt which just grazed the top of… suspenders. The red contrasted so beautifully with her pale skin, showed so much of her curves… Minerva gulped.**_

"_**Bella!"**_

"_**Yes, Minerva?" Her tone was too innocent, her hands now wrapped around her waist, pulling her too close for a student… but she couldn't help but relax into the embrace, even when Bella's cloak fell to the floor.**_

"_**Should you really be wearing… I mean… inappropriate –" she paused for a split second as an idea struck her, one she did not care for at all, "did you have plans to seduce someone tonight and they didn't work? So now you're here, trying to… what? Replace them with me, or something?"**_

_**For once in her life, Minerva McGonagall was practically incoherent. **_

"_**Oh no, Minerva. Quite the opposite."**_

"_**Op..Opposite…?" Minerva's breath was slightly more ragged than before, her senses heightened as she felt Bella's hands now gripping her hips.**_

"_**Mmhmm…" Bella breathed into her ear, "I didn't even go to a party. I waited until everyone was drunk enough that they wouldn't remember me walking in this direction, I put this on and then I came here." **_

"_**But… but, I'm your teacher!"**_

"_**A teacher who told me to call her by her first name. A teacher who was more than willing to dance with me, alone in her quarters. A teacher…" at this she paused, leaning still closer so she could murmur directly into her ear, "who is positively aroused by how much of my flesh she just saw." Minerva shivered as Bella's lips grazed her earlobe; indeed aroused by Bella Black.**_

"_**No! No, this is… just not right," she pulled away, released from the girl's grip, "Bella, you're six-" The clock chimed midnight.**_

"_**Seventeen, actually." **_

_**Bella tugged at the zip of her skirt and it fell down easily.**_

"_**God, Bella, I'm still your teacher for another year…" But she couldn't help but look at the underwear which so clearly matched the corset. Lacy and revealing, and so tempting to the professor. **_

"_**And who knows what will happen after that? I knew you wouldn't touch me until I was an adult, which is why I had to wait until tonight. But I'm determined to have you, Minerva, because I know you want me too. Why else would I still be here?"**_

_**Minerva was shaking her head, looking everywhere but at the tantalising woman in front of her.**_

"_**Minerva, no one would ever suspect a thing. I'm a Slytherin, and you aren't someone who would even be considered to have a relationship with a student. It would be so easy…"**_

_**She stepped closer as Minerva backed away, continuing forwards until Minerva's legs hit the sofa and she fell back onto it into a sitting position. Bella smiled her predatory smile as she walked closer still, straddling Minerva with ease. **_

"_**You know you want to."**_

_**Minerva gasped as she looked up at Bella, who took advantage of their positions, and leaned forward. She pressed her lips to the woman beneath her, lightly at first, but as Minerva surrendered with a groan, the kiss was instantly deepened; their lips crushed together, their tongues moving in each other's mouths, small moans escaping.**_

_**Minerva McGonagall was not a woman to be so easily taken, however, and she was determined to assert some form of dominance. She was always in charge of Bella… but she didn't want to be in this situation. It didn't stop her from ripping open the seventeen-year-old's corset and tossing it to the floor, nor did it stop her from leaning forward and taking a breast into her mouth, dragging her nails down Bella's back as she arched into her. She moved to other breast, leaving a trail of kisses as she went, her fingers now playing with Bella's lace underwear before she ripped it down the seam and tugged until it was removed, managing to remove the suspenders as she did so. **_

"_**Well, I did not expect that, Professor." Bella gasped out, somehow still keeping her sultry tone as she spoke. **_

_**It was suddenly so arousing to hear her official title fall from Bella's lips, something Minerva knew she would regret later when they were in class together. She pushed the thought aside and continued her ravaging.**_

_**Quickly, Bella took Minerva by the shoulders and forced her to stand up. "You're not in charge anymore though, Minerva."**_

_**The older woman shuddered as Bella pulled off her dress, muttering "It's probably a good thing you wear such loose robes. I couldn't have waited this long if you wore that every day-" she cut herself off by grasping Minerva's bra between her teeth and ripping it off while her hands pushed down the black lace to reveal what Bella wanted most. She dropped to her knees, simultaneously pushing her professor roughly back onto the sofa, both of them fully naked now and aroused beyond belief. Bella caught small amounts of Minerva's flesh between her teeth, starting at her knees and moving upwards, nipping at both of her thighs as she got higher, enjoying the gasping from above her. **_

"_**Bella…" a surprisingly warning voice issued from Minerva, and Bella had to comply. **_

_**Minerva couldn't help but groan, she hadn't expected the girl to be this good… No one had ever made her make this much noise, come this undone before now. She pulled Bella back up and kissed her roughly, wanting them to fall over the edge together for this first time. They moved their fingers inside each other in exactly the same way, biting down on the other's shoulders as they hit their climax.**_

Having Minerva recount their first time together in such detail was more than Bella could take, her mission momentarily forgotten, along with Voldemort, the war… everything except the woman in front of her, whose lips she claimed in a kiss.

End of part 2! Special thanks to GreenEleka for so many things; being the inspiration for the story, giving the nicest message I ever received on , and for agreeing to help if I ever need it while writing. Much love xx


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: This is one of the few Bellatrix/Minerva stories, beginning with their thoughts as they see each other during and after the war, then spanning backwards to when Bellatrix was at school and other memories. Enjoy, please review so I know how it's going. Italics are thoughts, emboldened italics are memories/flashback still. Here's part 3!**_

_My Bella is in there somewhere. The more she remembers, the more I find I can see her…_

Minerva broke the kiss gently, stroking Bella's hair as she did so and revelling in her smile.

"Bella… I never stopped loving you, Bella. From our first night together, through the whole of you seventh year when we were secretly a couple and all the years following, I have loved you." She whispered the words into her ear and heard the wand still in her hand drop to the floor. Minerva sighed in contentment for the moment, remembering the time she had so desperately wanted her feelings for Bella to leave her heart.

"Do you remember what it felt like, that summer after my sixth year? Being apart was just as unbearable for you as it was for me, Minerva, as it has been ever since. My seventh year of Hogwarts was the only time I was truly happy, and it was because of you. Before that…" Bella winced as the memories of her childhood flooded through her, ones that she had never told Minerva, "And after that, I haven't been _real_, sometimes it felt as though I had no control over myself," she stopped, frowning. "You make me feel that way too, but with you I don't want a control over my feelings." They paused, each reliving a memory with the same outcome, yet with distinctly different beginnings.

_**Minerva paced the rooms in her home restlessly as the day drew darker, the sun finally leaving the sky after the longest day of heat the woman had ever felt. Her tired mind, even after all these weeks, was still arguing with her wounded heart, relentlessly repeating the reasons why she could not continue with Bella. The age difference, the fact that she was Minerva's student, if they were discovered she would lose her job and Bella… god only knew what would happen to her girl. Minerva was well aware of the punishments inflicted in the "noblest house of Black". She wrung her hands most uncharacteristically before taking a swig of Firewhiskey, smiling as the flavour coated her taste buds, reminding her of Bella. Reminding her of kissing Bella passionately, the taste of the burning alcohol between them. Suddenly, the alcohol on its own was less appealing to the Professor, Bella's words ringing in her mind. **_

"_**You know you want to."**_

_**Minutes later, she was being led through the Black household by a house elf, wizened with age, to be greeted by a couple who bore little resemblance to their daughter. Minerva was glad of this, secretly, that her lover had few family traits in her. After introducing herself politely, answering through clenched teeth that she was indeed a pure blood, the tension between the couple and their daughter's teacher eased as they invited her into a room filled only with a large mahogany table surrounded by chairs, all of which were encased with a twisting metal enchanted to look like the Black family crest. **_

_**As soon as the questions arose as to why she was there, Minerva's already aimed wand released a spell she silently chanted in her mind.**_

_**Confundo. **_

_**She smiled as the couple nodded to her demands that they must leave for the evening, and not punish Bella for the duration of the summer in any way, something she added as an afterthought as she watched Mr Black stomp menacingly up the stairs to his daughter's bedroom. **_

_**The sun had been scorching; the brightness of it seeping through the darkness Bella was surrounded by in her room. She lived in irritation caused by the light that she couldn't keep out, her depression fuelling any negative emotion. Only when the night came, like now, could she feel more content with her situation. Being away from Minerva for so many weeks had slowly sent her into a spiralling despondency; they had been unable to even write to each other in case the letters were intercepted by unwanted readers, and it meant Bella Black was living on hope. Hope that the woman she loved hadn't decided, in her absence, that she could not continue a relationship with one of the seventh years. Or worse, found someone else. **_

_**Bella shuddered at the thought, her mind consumed with vile images of Minerva touching someone else in the way she had touched her, moans being drawn out from her throat, convulsing under someone, or bringing them to a release like she had with her. She was, however, drawn from these thoughts quickly, when a knock sounded from her bedroom door. She knew instantly who it was; no one else would rap on the door quite so rudely with their knuckles. Walking in without any hint of respecting his daughter's privacy, his face impassive as he strolled towards her, Bella noticed her father was wearing his best outer robes – her parents were going out for the evening. **_

"_**Bellatrix, there is a visitor downstairs who requests your presence, a Professor McGonagall. She has already explained to us the reasoning behind her visit to your mother and I, and we are disinclined to hear it again considering we already had plans. You may speak with her for the evening whilst we are gone, but be warned, girl. You have a reputation to uphold, and I do not want you letting anything slip about our arrangement for when you complete your education –" he leaned towards her threateningly and grabbed her left forearm "and neither does the Dark Lord" he hissed. As he left, Bella unconsciously rubbed the spot he had seized, knowing what would reside in her skin in just one year, but having been mostly unaware of what her father had said as soon as Minerva's name was mentioned.**_

_**She waited until she heard the front door of their mansion slam shut before racing downstairs to be greeted by utter silence. Her stomach twisting with excitement, she made her way into the dining area quickly, breaking into a run when she spotted the raven-haired woman seated in one of the uncomfortable chairs surrounding the mahogany table in the centre of the room. She stopped just short of the woman, glancing around uncertainly. **_

"_**Professor McGonagall." She greeted politely.**_

"_**Miss Black. I require a word with you, privately, regarding matters of your education throughout your seventh year."**_

"_**Of course, Professor. If you would accompany me to the study upstairs?"**_

_**Minerva nodded, trying not to smile at Bella's attempt to move them to somewhere without as much worry of being caught. Despite the house being empty, most of the rooms gave its inhabitants a feeling of being watched, particularly now. Bella's room, however, was quite different. Once upstairs, Bella closed her bedroom door behind them silently, twisting round to find Minerva directly in front of her. She gasped when Minerva took both of her hands and kissed them gently before repositioning herself between her student's thighs. Bella's breathing became heavier; a summer without this woman had been hellish, remedied only by the feel of Minerva's lips on hers, her hands grasping at her waist, removing her fitted black top, pushing it over her hips without breaking their kiss and dragging her skirt with it. Bella was left in her boots and her underwear, plain black lace – one of her most boring pairs, but they still pleased Minerva, it seemed, as she pulled them off the girl and led her towards the bed in the middle of the room. Bella stepped out of her heeled boots on the way, glad Minerva had thought to cast charms preventing anyone from entering the room, and from hearing any sounds from within.**_

_**Minerva pushed Bella down onto the bed, her mouth already trailing paths from her collarbone, closer and closer to where Bella needed it most, where Minerva so desperately craved to taste again. When her talented tongue had brought Bella to a shattering climax, she was delighted to return the favour, having been imagining such a moment for weeks while alone in her room. She used her fingers, her nails, teeth and tongue and smiling widely as Minerva screamed her name.**_

"I couldn't have waited until the start of the school year to see you, Bella." Minerva smiled at the woman in front of her, marvelling at how little her features had changed since then – except for her eyes. They never had lost the haunted look, although it had definitely receded somewhat since she had been in Minerva's private rooms. They had retreated to the bed once more, both lying on their sides with their arms around the other, legs entangled together.

"Nor could I resist enchanting your parents so they would leave us be for the evening. It had been too long a wait, or so I thought until this evening. I don't think I want to recall just how many years it's been since we were in this bed together."

Bella smiled at her lover carefully, wincing a little at an unknown pain. The Mark on her arm was suddenly uncomfortable, but not in the same way to make her think she was being summoned. It was fading; less prominent than usual, and the snake protruding from the skull was still, unmoving for the first time.

"Minerva, look…"

"He grows weaker still, darling. The Potter boy had a mission, left by Dumbledore – it was in their blood to defeat Voldemort."

Bella winced as her lover spoke her master's name aloud, flashes of the war suddenly visible in her mind. She saw Nagini murdering Snape on their master's command, and she shuddered violently.

"Bella? What's wrong, darling?" Minerva's tone was laced with concern as she watched various expressions of fear and disgust flit across her face.

Bella watched the scene unfolding in her own mind, Snape leaning towards the Potter boy and giving him the memories pouring from him, then flashed forward to a far clearer picture, one she imagined must be what was happening in front of Potter right at that moment. He heard his orders to his two friends, one of them another ginger Weasley, the other a bushy haired Muggle-born.

"_Kill the snake_."

She was brought back to reality with a harsh convulsion, unaware that she had spoken the words aloud.

"Bella… what just happened?"

She recounted what she saw to Minerva rapidly, recalling every detail as though she had been there personally, stopping only when Voldemort's face flashed in front of her mind, a wand pointed towards someone she couldn't see in her mind's eye. Upon seeing her master's face, the memory of what she had been ordered to do was suddenly prominent in her mind again, frighteningly loud inside her own mind.

"He knows," Bella whispered. "Minnie, he knows!"

"Knows what? What does he know, Bella?" Minerva demanded, her previous state of contentment vanishing as she saw Bella's distress.

"He knows I have you, that we're together. And he knows that I have not killed you. If Potter doesn't succeed… he will find us both."

"Then we will just have to hope that Potter does succeed. And if he does not… we'll run."

"We tried that once before, remember?" Bella murmured sadly, the simulated memories of what might have been had they escaped before it was too late flooding her mind.

They could have lived as a married couple somewhere safe, been together as often as they wanted, shared a bed for decades without worry of being caught and judged. They could have… started a family. Lived happily ever after. It was not to be.

The tear trickling down Bella's cheek matched the ones already coursing down Minerva's at their shared thought.


End file.
